"This fire is a critical reminder of the importance of the safe use of medical oxygen in the home, particularly with our elderly who are often less mobile and struggle with other medical challenges," Mifflin Fire Chief Fred Kauser said.

"While oxygen itself is not flammable, the heat triggers a chemical reaction between the oxygen and fuel," said Capt. Steve Welsh, Mifflin Township's fire marshal. "Even a small amount of increased oxygen in the home makes this critical element more available for the chemical reaction, meaning that any fire that occurs will burn faster and hotter."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. " A bankrupt chemical company responsible for a spill that contaminated a West Virginia river and fouled the drinking water supply of 300,000 residents was fined $900,000 on pollution charges Thursday, with a judge noting that Freedom Industries likely could never pay it.

"I might as well enter the maximum fine," US District Judge Thomas Johnston said. "It"s all symbolic anyway."

Johnston said there were millions more in claims against the company than the listed assets of $2 million to $2.5 million. He said the fine would be collected only if those other claims are processed in full.

NIXA, Mo. (AP) " A southwest Missouri police building has reopened after a box of the potentially toxic chemical sodium cyanide was taken to a medical drop box there.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that a man took the box to the Nixa Police Department last Friday in an attempt to dispose of it. Lt. Jeff Lofton, of the Christian County Sheriff"s Department, says the man found the box after a move.

Whitney Weaver, of the Nixa Fire Protection District, says the man wound up taking the box with him when he left the police building.

Weaver says a clerk who handled a bottle in the box thought she felt ill effects. She and another clerk went to the hospital, but were OK. The building was closed for several days before reopening Wednesday.___

ATLANTA, Ga. - A labor dispute raised questions about how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta operates inside one of its most important buildings. And it's not a pretty sight.

The FOX 5 I-Team obtained dozens of photos and videos taken by a former worker inside Building 18, where the CDC handles deadly pathogens like anthrax and rabies. The pictures were from 2013 and 2014, but workers said they come across similar conditions even now.

One video depicted two sealed test tubes scattered on the floor in the "clean area" outside the viral diseases laboratories at the CDC. A worker said someone had moved a refrigerator... and apparently forgot about the two vials.

Jack Turner said they had been there for a couple of days. So he took out his camera. Once again.

Former CDC Contractor: Photos Reveal Bio-Safety Concerns"You can see vials just laying around, and nobody ever moved them or picked them up," the former CDC contractor told FOX 5 I-Team reporter Randy Travis. "One time we saw a big vial of blood. And that was really scary right there."

LAMAR COUNTY, Ga. -- A rolling meth lab bust shut down all lanes of I-75 Northbound near State Route 36 for over an hour Thursday morning.

According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, a car carrying hazardous materials crashed along the highway. Officials on the scene were wearing hazmat suits because they did not know what materials were in the suspect's car.

11Alive's sister station, WMAZ-TV, reports that 35-year-old Dustin McMillan and his passenger 31-year-old Jeremy Fulghum were charged with traffic-related violations. The sheriff's office said more charges could be filed.

All lanes have since reopened. Authorities continued to gather evidence into the crash.

The Harris County fire marshal said in a recently released incident report that faulty equipment caused an explosion at a chemical plant in Pasadena that killed one worker and injured three others.Fire officials on the scene reported that a "piece of equipment attached to a vacuum truck had suffered some sort of failure and blew off of the truck injuring 3 workers and killing another," according to the incident report. The report does not detail what the equipment was, or how it blew off the truck.The blast killed 63-year-old Rickey Giddens and is the latest in a series of fatalities at plants in the greater Houston area.PeroxyChem officials said at a La Porte citizens advisory committee meeting Tuesday evening that an "active investigation" was ongoing and that they could not take any questions about the incident or the investigation.

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SCIENCE BUILDING AT UTSA EVACUATED FOR WATER LEAKTags: us_TX, laboratory, release, response, other_chemical

A science building at UTSA's main campus was evacuated because of a water leak.

Hazmat crews evacuated the building thinking they were dealing with a chemical spill, but it turned out to be water from pipes used to keep the floor warm.

They cleaning the mess up and will allow people back in as soon as they're done.

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SAN ANTONIO-- Hazmat has been called to one of the UTSA science building on the north campus.

The Dearborn-based automaker told the newspaper that there is no health risk to people living in the area and that the plant gets its drinking water from the city of Detroit's system.

Ford also sent letters to area residents advising them of the situation and upcoming testing.

"This work is simply in an abundance of caution after a chemical " vinyl chloride " from past, historic manufacturing processes was identified in underground water ... while making upgrades at the plant," plant manager Robert Groden said in the letter.

GREENSBORO, NC -- Thirty million gallons of water goes through Greensboro's wastewater facility every day.

And while the filtration systems can remove many chemicals, there's one they can't -- 1,4 dioxane.

The Environmental Protection Agency has labeled 1, 4 dioxane as a probable carcinogen. And it has now been found in water all across the state -- from Fayetteville all the way to Greensboro, Asheboro and Reidsville.

Steve Drew, water resources director for the City of Greensboro, said the chemical was found in the city's wastewater only and not its drinking water. The same is true for Asheboro and Reidsville.

Drew said the chemical was found because Fayetteville officials noticed it in their drinking water, and asked upstream cities to test their water to help locate the source of it.

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